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A pair of masked gunmen stormed a Red Lobster in Kendall, Florida, and closed several employees in a restaurant refrigerator before taking off with $500 cash. NBC 6's Marissa Bagg reports. (Published Monday, Sept. 1, 2014)

Updated at 3:49 PM PDT on Monday, Sep 1, 2014

A pair of masked gunmen stormed a Red Lobster in Kendall, Florida, and closed several employees in a restaurant refrigerator before taking off with $500 cash.

Workers at the Red Lobster at 11550 Kendall Drive were closing up the restaurant around just before midnight on Sunday when police say two armed men, their faces covered with either shirts or skullies, walked through the front door.

The men ordered the employees to surrender their cell phones, then pistol-whipped shift manager Edith Olivares, 52, and demanded she open the restaurant's safe, according to police.

The masked men also kicked 24-year-old bartender Leron Reid several times, then forced the employees into the store's refrigerator and made off with the cash, police said.

Masked Gunmen Rob Kendall Red Lobster

Police are investigating after a pair of masked gunmen stormed a Kendall Red Lobster and closed several employees in a restaurant refrigerator before taking off with $500 cash. NBC 6's Bobby Brooks reports. (Published Monday, Sept. 1, 2014)

Once the coast was clear, employees were able to open the refrigerator door and call police.

While Olivares sustained several lacerations to the head, she will recover.

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Red Lobster's general manager Neil Anderson said he and his employees are grateful no one was killed in the robbery and called the robbers "cowards."

"They're cowards. It's really cowardly to hit a 52-year-old lady with a pistol," he said. "She's a valued employee. A fantastic employee."

“Our thoughts are with the employees who were impacted by this terrible crime. Their recovery, the safety of our Kendall team and local guests is our No. 1 priority," a Red Lobster spokeswoman said in a statement. "We have taken steps to increase security presence at this location and we are actively partnering with the police on their investigation."

In the meantime, the Kendall Red Lobster is back open for business.

Now police need the public's help in identifying the armed robbers. They are described as one man with a thin build and another with a heavy build, both in their 30s, between 5 feet 8 inches and and 5 feet 10 inches tall.

Anyone with information is urged to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS(8477).